Twenty-four hours before the annual Ottawa Sun Scramble — presented by the good people at ClubEG — kicked off on Monday morning at Manderley on the Green, brothers Jason and Chris Miner met for a practice round at the layout just outside of Manotick so they could get a first-hand look.

While they weren’t happy after finishing at 8 over in the round they started playing at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, they put together a game plan they felt would help them make the cut when the biggest golf tournament in the city officially got under way with Adcor Tech ‘D’ Division on Monday.

By the time the last putt rolled in Monday afternoon at Manderley, the Miner brothers were tied at the top of the leaderboard for first place with Mitchell Miranda and Alykhan Essa at 5 under.

Not bad for the first time Sun Scramblers, who say they don’t get to play as much golf as they’d like. Jason works for Purolator, Chris works for the City of Ottawa and they’re both busy with family commitments.

Jason Miner (who played with his brother Chris Miner) was at the top of the leaderboard on day one of the Ottawa Sun Scramble at Mannerly on the Green golf course Monday. The local golf tournament is played over the next week at different courses around the city. Julie Oliver/PostmediaJulie Oliver /
Postmedia

Only two strokes back at 3 under were Michael Carneiro and Karson Blank along with Mario Quenneville and Andre Kingsbury. Ten of the 40 teams that participated made the cut — which was at 1 under — and they’ll be part of Championship Saturday at The Marshes.

The Miners figured if they could finish 3 over they’d make the cut, but on a day when the conditions were perfect for scoring, they’ve not only booked a spot on Saturday, they’ve also put themselves in a position to be the champs with a standout effort.

With Jason being a long hitter, the two decided that Chris would use an iron off the tee to put a ball in play. That allowed them to give Jason the opportunity to take a chance with a driver.

“I would get the driver out and then whatever happens, happens. We made a super amount of putts and we chipped in for birdies,” said Jason.

“Everything went our way,” Chris added.

No kidding.

The Miners actually made an eagle No. 14, a par-5 which was playing approximately 450 yards on the north course. Jason put the drive to 160 yards, they put their second shot to seven feet and made the putt.

“It got a nice bounce. It just rolled right up,” said Jason, a Kanata resident.

“We couldn’t do that again if we tried,” Chris said.

Brothers Chris and Jason Miner (left) were at the top of the leaderboard on day one of the Ottawa Sun Scramble at Mannerly on the Green golf course Monday. The local golf tournament is played over the next week at different courses around the city. Julie Oliver/PostmediaJulie Oliver /
Postmedia

The key in any scramble, and this is what all the competitors are going to find out this week, is you have to make your putts to get to the next level. The greens at Manderley were tricky Monday and if you look at the scores there were plenty of players out there that had their short game going.

“We made our putts. We played our practice round (Sunday) and we didn’t make anything,” said Chris.

They saw the Sun Scramble as an opportunity to test themselves against players with similar handicaps in a competition that is widely respected throughout the city.

“We’ve played twice this year and (Sunday) was only our second round this year together,” said Chris, a Gatineau resident.

“We were aiming for plus-3 and that wouldn’t have made the cut. To roll in a couple of birdies got the round going,” said Jason. “The playing conditions were perfect.”

It was a day of firsts for the Miners.

“We’ve never actually played together, with the exception of Sunday’s practice round, in this kind of (format),” said Jason. “We’ve played against each other but not together.

“We both have kids and when we get out when we can. We play anywhere. We wanted to go in last year and it just didn’t work out. (Chris) was checking and there was a spot open so we thought, ‘Let’s do. It should be fun. Why not?’ This gives us a little competitive edge. It’s good experience and fun.”

“I’ve played The Marshes twice and No. 2 is probably the toughest hole in the city. If we can get out of there with a bogey I’d be happy,” said Chris.

Added Jason: “We’re just going to go out and have fun and whatever happens, happens. That was the mindset we had going into (Monday).”

The Sun Scramble continues Tuesday with the Absolute Comedy ‘C’ Division at Dragonfly. The tee times begin at 8 a.m.

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